Al-Sisi swearing-in brings Arab leaders to Cairo

Former Egyptian army chief Abdul Fattah al-Sisi is sworn in as his country’s new president today, and crowds are gathering in Tahrir square to celebrate the man many see as ending three years of chaos in the country.

For others however Sisi remains illegitimate for overthrowing a democratically-elected leader, and his critics say he is unable to claim much from an end-of-May election where turnout was under 50%, even if 97% of the vote went to him.

Many Arab and Muslim leaders are in Cairo for the ceremony and an official lunch, and that includes a Qatari representative. Qatar had been the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt’s biggest backers before al-Sisi’s coup and crackdown against them.